“In the Army, we break men down and then build them back up,” Wonderlin said. “Here, we had a little bit different of a challenge. We needed to build confidence and accomplish goals.”

Jacob had plenty of work to do at home. He wasn’t much for snacking or sweets, but at meals he overindulged.

He ate heaping portions of pasta and red meat. His diet included almost no fruits or vegetables.

With Wonderlin’s help, Jacob designed a diet to cut fatty foods and excessive carbohydrates.

“Basically, for every dish that my parents made at home, we replaced the beef with fish or chicken and I kept to strict portions,” Jacob said.

“I gave him a couple hours a week where he could cheat and eat what he wanted,” Wonderlin said. “There were a few times where we lost ground, but not too many.”

The gym vexed Jacob. Progress was slow at first.

He remembers the first time he tried to jump rope; he made two or three passes and was exhausted.

Eventually, he worked his way to jumping rope for 10 minutes at a stretch.

Wonderlin balanced his wrestling and weightlifting with cardiovascular challenges such as running.

Jacob Havener, a freshman wrestler at Bondurant-Farrar High School, poses for a photo before losing 120 pounds in eight months so he could join the wrestling team. Havener's goal is to place at the state tournament while he's in high school.(Photo: Special to the Register)

Jacob’s goal was to lose 3 pounds a week. Early on, his weight loss came in big gobs. He lost almost 30 pounds in the first 20 days.

The wrestling team has two periods of intense training and conditioning each year; one in the spring and one in the fall before the season. They're called "hell weeks."

For his first hell week, Jacob could barely do any of the activities. He was winded easily and weak.

But by the fall hell week, he could do everything and kept up with his teammates.

The deadline of Oct. 21 loomed. That’s when Jacob needed to be at 285 to qualify for national tournaments.

A week or two before the official weigh-in, neither Wonderlin nor Jacob can remember for sure, Jacob stepped on the scales.

The number? 284.9 pounds.

He made it.

“It felt great, but I felt like I could still do more,” Jacob said.

And he did. By the time wrestling season started in late fall, Jacob was down to about 280 pounds.

In less than a year, Jacob shed 121 pounds — roughly the weight of six car tires for a standard sedan.

Jacob wrestled in tournaments against juniors and seniors. He didn’t win a lot, but he finished second or third against more experienced wrestlers.

“He’s only a freshman, and he’s got a lot of growth in him yet,” Wonderlin said. “After what he’s been through, he can accomplish anything he puts his mind to.”

This fall, some fractured bones in his foot sidelined him from wrestling. But he keeps working out and watching his portions.

He can smile when he looks in the mirror. He’s eager to get back on the mat. His mind is forward-thinking.

“I’d like to place at state someday,” Jacob said. “That would be nice.”

Whether that happens remains to be seen, but the big kid from Bondurant is already a champion at life.

Daniel P. Finney, Register Metro Voice columnist, is a Drake University alumnus who grew up in Winterset and east Des Moines. Reach him at dafinney@dmreg.com. More from Finney:DesMoinesRegister.com/Finney.